Monday would be a good day to take the train

The company that manages the office building where I work sent out a memo this afternoon. The short version: Monday would be a really, really good day not to try to drive into the city.

Please be advised that according to Park Police and the Metropolitan Police Department, there will be an immigration protest Monday afternoon, April 10th. The protesters will gather between 1:00pm and 3:00pm in Meridian Park (also known as Malcolm X Park) on 16th Street. At 3:00pm they will march from the Park south to H Street and then turn west on H Street to south on 15th Street going toward the Mall.

Park Police have issued a permit for 600 people to march. However, there are media reports of “tens of thousands” of protesters being involved. The media attention regarding recent immigration protests across the country and pending immigration legislation in Congress could bring out more people. There is also some information indicating that counter protest organizations could try to impact the march. Although Park Police and MPD are not giving out an official estimate, off the record they are saying between 30,000 – 50,000 people could show up and they are planning accordingly.

If the march attracts large or even small numbers, it will cause major traffic problems over a large area of the city. In addition, if counter protest organizations get involved, there may be clash points along the march route between the two groups.

We suggest that if your route out of the city at the end of your work day takes you through the vicinity of these activities, you investigate alternate routes home for Monday afternoon. In addition, stay tuned to your local television and radio stations for updates throughout the day.

Depending on how busy my afternoon is on Monday, I might bop over there for a few minutes to check out the festivities. If anybody wants to meet up with me — or lend me a camera; I’m looking at you, Tom — I’m all over it.

1 Comment so far

I’m headed over to the protest as it passes 16th and H Street onwards – I work a block away. I’ll be posting via my handy cell phone, but for those needing a wifi connection, there is one in Pershing Park.